Paris (AFP)
“Carlo never gets angry” is the sentence that Italian legend Paolo Maldini described his compatriot and former coach Carlo Ancelotti, and which sums up the personality of the man who became the first coach in history to win the Champions League four times, after Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the suburbs The French capital, Paris.
He returned last summer to the Spanish capital to supervise the Royal Club for the second time after the first passage between 2013 and 2015, during which he led him to the tenth title “La Desima” in 2014, in order to continue writing history.
His style, albeit not impressive, always pays off: at the end of last April, “El Maestre” became the first coach in history to win the five major European titles after leading the royals to the La Liga title.
The image of the man from the town of Regolo in the Emilia-Romagna province, northern Italy, during his team’s celebrations, wearing dark glasses, along with the players, swept social networking sites.
“The players are my friends,” he said with a smile, and now they returned the favor to him again at the Stade de France in the continental final.
With this new European crown, the 62-year-old Italian became the only coach to win the title of the continental competition four times (in 2003 and 2007 with Milan, 2014 and 2022 with Real Madrid), surpassing French Zinedine Zidane and Englishman Bob Paisley (three each with Real Madrid). Madrid and Liverpool, respectively).
“I’m a record guy,” he said after the victory over Liverpool. “I was fortunate to come back here last year and have a great season.”
However, Ancelotti’s career has seen some “bumps” in recent years, in Naples (2018-2019) and then Everton (2019-2021), two clubs inferior to those that the Italian is accustomed to, after his relative failure, if it is true at the head of the apparatus. The Bayern Munich coach with whom he won the German League title in 2017.
Maldini, the former Milan captain, often described him as a “nice big bear”, incapable of bloodshed: “It can only happen when he eats, because once he holds a fork, it takes an army to stop him!”
It is this calm that is sometimes betrayed by that left eyebrow that rises when things do not suit him, this passion, in addition to the great experience in dealing with the players and his tactical approach, that has earned Ancelotti, with the daily support of his son and assistant Davidi, the ability to carry the great at a club like Real Madrid. .
Despite his stature, it wasn’t enough in 2015 to save his head after a disappointing second season in the Spanish capital.
But the love story between Carlo Ancelotti, who is married to a Spanish-Canadian, and “White Castle” is not over yet.
When his former assistant Zidane, who led Real Madrid to the Champions League three times, left his position last summer, President Florentino Perez called in “Carlito”, who has become more like a peacemaker.
In 2013, his diplomatic talents helped heal the wounds of the Madrid dressing room set on fire by his Portuguese predecessor, Jose Mourinho.
In Paris Saint-Germain, where he took over in December 2011, he failed in his first season to win the French League before he succeeded in 2013.
With Chelsea, who was owned by the demanding Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, he achieved the domestic double by winning the League and Cup titles in 2010 before leaving later.
Nevertheless, Milan remained the club he loved most after playing for him and achieving his first continental glory as a coach.
He was a midfielder in his ranks between 1987 and 1992, and then a coach between 2001 and 2009, so Carlo spent 13 years in the “Lombardy” club.
Inside the green rectangle, the former midfielder (26 international matches) won two Champions League titles with the Rossoneri in 1989 and 1990 under the supervision of legendary coach Arrigo Sacchi, before becoming his assistant in the Italian national team and runner-up to Brazil in the 1994 World Cup.
As a coach, the former coach of Parma (1996-1998) and Juventus (1999-2001) opened his record with Milan with the Italian Cup in 2003, the League title in 2004 and the Champions League twice in 2003 and 2007, knowing that he was at the head of the technical staff during the famous loss against Liverpool in the final of the main continental competition in 2005, after the Italian team advanced 3-0 at the end of the first half.
After his fourth title in the Champions League, it is hard to imagine the world of football without this man who is respected and loved by everyone.
“I want to spend time with my grandchildren, go on vacation with my wife, and there are a lot of things I neglected and I would like to do,” he said at the beginning of May, knowing that he has a contract with Real Madrid until 2024.
“After Real, yes, maybe I will stop, but if Real keeps me here for ten years, I will coach for ten years.”
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